


21st

by Aly_H



Category: Mass Effect: Andromeda
Genre: Birthday, Gen, birthday celebration, decision to go to Andromeda, funny fluff, siblings having fun
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-03-21
Updated: 2018-03-21
Packaged: 2019-04-05 17:32:25
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 981
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/14049288
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Aly_H/pseuds/Aly_H
Summary: It is apparently Mass Effect Andromeda’s birthday today. As it was my first ME game it is always gonna hold a special place in my heart.In celebration I give you “21st”, the birthday the Ryders celebrate the year before they leave for Andromeda.





	21st

_“The Shepherd memorial service scheduled on Tuesday is expected to be attended by…_ ” the news broadcast was almost completely swallowed up by the hum of the busy Silversun Strip as he glanced at his omni-tool nervously.

She was late. If she didn’t hurry up they were going to miss their reservation.

“Gotcha!” an arm was thrown over his shoulder and a weight crashed into him. It took all his control to _not_ throw the intruder into one of the nearby signs.

“Sara!” he huffed, scowling at her. “Stop _doing_ that!”

“No,” she grinned brightly, before hugging him tight. “I missed you, Scott.”

“Missed you too,” he grumbled, his cheeks turning bright red beneath the more than generous sprinkling of orange-ish freckles.

Both of them took after their father in that regards – pale skinned, bright red hair which would doubtlessly go white with age and stress as Alec’s had, and green eyes. Sara’s were the ones who had all the same curiosity as their father’s did, Scott was their mother’s son – he wanted to take care of people, just had also gotten a generous dosage of Alec’s wanderlust in his veins to go along with it.

“You said you got us reservations?”

They were both dressed up nicely for dinner and the casino but not _that_ nicely. They wanted to be prepared in case the Silversun Casino was a bust they could go hit the arcade instead. They were very mature, responsible adults after all.

“C’mon,” he grinned, taking his twin’s hand. “You still like sushi, right?”

“Love it,” she snorted – apparently he was an idiot for thinking that would ever change. “Earth or Asaari style?”

“Earth,” he smiled. Sara tended to date outside their species which meant her partners took her to more styles of restaurants than he was usually bold enough to try on his own.  “It’s supposed to be really good though.”

“I’ve got to get you to be more adventurous, Scott,” she complained. “What’re you gonna do when we get _there_? Survive off ration packs til you’re eighty?”

“Hey,” he held up a hand defensively. “I haven’t actually _agreed_ to Dad’s mad plan yet, you know? …did you already sign up?”

Sara looked sheepish, “It was too exciting to pass up,” she mumbled, looking away. “I mean a whole new _galaxy_ , Scott. To go places no one else has ever seen to learn things no one else ever knew before! Maybe we’ll even meet new cultures, wouldn’t that be fantastic?”

“Sure, if they don’t eat us.”

A smirk played across her lips, green eyes dancing as she opened her mouth.

“ _No_ ,” he said firmly, clapping a hand over her lips before she could utter a sound. “No, don’t go there. Sara, I love you but _ew_. You’re my sister, you’re not supposed to even know about stuff like that!”

Suddenly something slimy pressed against his palm and he jerked his hand back, a look of pure disgust on his face while Sara just looked proud.

“You _licked_ me,” Scott groaned. “What are you _five_?”

“No, I’m twenty-one, just like _you_ ,” she cackled sing-song.

The others in line at the restaurant were giving the pair of siblings strange looks and they both calmed down, instead whispering opinions of different people they saw in the crowd.

When the waiter came to seat them both of them stayed quiet, her eyes dancing to watch the fish more than she paid attention to the menu. She knew what she liked, _he_ was the one who got hesitant over his choices.

Once their orders were placed she sighed and looked at him, “You’re really thinking about not going?”

“I dunno,” he shrugged. “It’s just…going so far away. We’d leave behind _everything_ we know, and any future we might have had here. I’m still trying to appeal the Alliance’s decision. One of my friends said that they could probably get me a job out on one of the colonies – Horizon. The biotic thing isn’t as much a problem once you get further out.”

He stared at his drink for a moment before looking up, “You’re really willing to give up university and studying the Protheans for all that unknown?”

Sara flinched slightly, her eyes following one of the large carp with dramatic black and orange markings. Still she took her time answering as his apology got caught in his throat.

“Those bridges are burned,” she said at last. “We don’t have the money for school, the Alliance won’t put a Ryder on any of their research teams, and…Mom’s gone.” Her voice dropped even quieter, wavering just above a whisper, “I can’t imagine going back to Earth without her there.”

She looked back to him from the fish, “Andromeda’s a chance, Scott. A new start and Dad’s going…I just want what’s left of our family to still be together, you know?”

He nodded a little before relenting, “Tomorrow – I’ll do the paperwork. If I’m not too hungover.”

She blinked at him, “Really?”

“Well I got to protect those poor Andromadean-ians from _you_ , don’t I?” he forced a grin. She was right, with their mother gone and all the bridges they’d tried to build so thoroughly burned there really wasn’t a life for them here anymore. He’d miss the Citadel and Earth and at least a thousand other things but he couldn’t let Sara go off to the stars without him.

She smiled before frowning a bit, “Hey, aren’t we supposed to be celebrating?”

“Yeah – you getting old, I mean, look I think you’re already getting a gray hair,” he reached over, letting his biotics flare to ruffle the waves of her hair into a static mess.

“Scott!” she complained, rapidly trying to get the hair to lay flat again. “Come _on_ , not cool little bro! That’s it, casino’s canceled. We’re going to the arena and I’m kicking your ass.”

“Oh, you _wish_.”


End file.
